


Like a Lumpy and Scratchy Mate Blanket

by LadyDrace



Series: Junk Ficlets from Tumblr [74]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Damaged Derek, Getting Together, Guilt, M/M, Mates, Mentioned Kate Argent, POV Derek, POV Derek Hale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-14 02:24:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7148666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDrace/pseuds/LadyDrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek doesn't deserve a mate. That's just fact. But another fact is... that his mate is literally on his doorstep. Fuck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like a Lumpy and Scratchy Mate Blanket

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the [Sterek Valentine's Meme](http://ladydrace.tumblr.com/post/138499254836/sterek-stories-sterek-valentines-meme-leave-a) on Tumblr, for a prompt by [matureheartless241](http://matureheartless241.tumblr.com/): "my mate"
> 
> [Originally posted here.](http://ladydrace.tumblr.com/post/139597553071/for-your-sterek-meme-my-mate-3-topderek-please)
> 
> Unbetaed.

“My… my mate?” Derek asks again, confused. “But… I don’t have…” he trails off, eyes jumping between his mother and Laura, both of them uncharacteristically calm and serious.

 

“You do. And he’s in the next room.”

 

Derek stares at them for another moment, and snorts. “This is insane. Mates don’t just show up on your doorstep, mom!”

 

“They do if they’ve been looking. And this boy has, Derek,” she says quietly. “I know that after… after Kate you didn’t want to get out there, but… mates are a two-way street, sweetheart. And this boy has been dreaming about you and wanting to find you, and it’s going to hurt you both if you deny him.”

Derek doesn’t want to go into the next room and meet this person. He doesn’t want to meet anybody, doesn’t want to love anybody. He sure as hell doesn’t _deserve_ to love anybody, not after how close he came to losing everyone he’d ever loved, just because he’d been thinking with his dick. He knows his family doesn’t agree with his self-flagellating ways, but they’re not the ones carrying the guilt. And just for that, whoever is claiming to be Derek’s mate would definitely be better off rejecting the bond and finding happiness somewhere else. Mates are not the be all end all of love. And no one should have to deal with all of Derek’s issues, mate or not.

 

He can feel the lead sink heavy to the bottom of his stomach as he makes up his mind. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but a little hurt now would be better than a lot of hurt later on. But before he says a single word, the door flies open, and a flurry of limbs plaid windmills towards him in a shocking manner, collapsing at his feet just as he’s considering running the hell away. The person kneeling in front of him where he’s sitting on the couch is… _perfect_. It’s the first word that pops into Derek’s mind, and he’s torn between happiness and incredible sadness, because it’s just not going to be.

 

“Please,” he guy says breathlessly. “Please, gimme a chance. I could feel you, out there, I could feel you were going to reject me, but please, please don’t. I know I’m not much, I know I’m young, and I know I wouldn’t be anyone’s first choice as a mate, but I’ve been dreaming about you for years, and I feel like I know you, and if you’d just let me-”

 

“No,” Derek says, and the boy’s face falls, a wave of sadness sweeping over Derek, and for the first time he realizes that this sadness isn’t his own. “No, I mean, it’s not you. There’s nothing wrong with you,” Derek clarifies. “You’re perfect. It’s me. I’m not okay.”

 

Cycling through several different facial expressions, the boy finally settles on something soft and affectionate. “I know, man. Like I said, I’ve been dreaming about you. I’ve seen enough of what goes on in your head. But I also know that you’re kind and loving and a little bit of an asshole, and… I think we’d be great together.”

 

Derek still doesn’t think it’s a good idea. He’s still convinced that it’ll end in heartbreak. But he’s also getting a rush of emotion that isn’t his own, and it’s heady. He’d deliberately shut himself down keeping any possible second-hand input from a potential mate out, but being so close, now, there’s no ignoring the bond reaching out, seeking to solidify itself, and the boy’s imploring eyes on top of the desperation is just too much. Derek can’t refuse.

 

“I’m going to hurt you,” he insists, but it’s obvious the boy can feel his walls crumbling, because he beams at Derek.

 

“If you do, you’ll just have to make it up to me,” he says confidently, and Derek glances over his shoulder to see his mother and Laura gone. He hadn’t even noticed them leaving, but he appreciates the gesture as he takes the boy’s hand in his, the gesture feeling infinitely more intimate than any sex he’s ever had.

 

“What’s your name?”

 

“Call me Stiles,” he says with a grin, and Derek can feel that there’s a story there. A story he can’t wait to pry out of Stiles, curiosity poking its nose out of the ground after years of being trodden down.

 

“I’m Derek.”

 

“I know. I probably know more about you than you’re comfortable with, because I definitely abused certain law enforcement resources to track you down. Sorry,” he adds as an afterthought, though Derek gets the distinct impression it’s not very sincere.

 

“It’s fine,” Derek says, a small smile creeping onto his lips, feeling stiff and unused to bending into that shape. “I wouldn’t have come to you. It was your only option.”

 

Stiles sighs, relief pouring over Derek, like Stiles had expected to he judged for his desperation. Derek is the last one to judge anyone for making up for _his_ mistakes. And keeping himself locked down had been a mistake, it’s obvious now, his entire being uncoiling, softening and opening up, and he can feel Stiles, his emotions and his personality, wrapping around Derek like a warm, if somewhat lumpy and scratchy blanket. But it’s okay. They have time to smooth the edges.

 

“I’ll try. I’ll try my very best to be what you need.”

 

“I know, Derek,” Stiles says softly, hands squeezing gently around Derek’s. “And I’ll try and be the same for you.”

 

End.


End file.
